NAGPUR: Taking a serious view of the continuing farmers’ suicides and failure of the special relief packages, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Monday asked the state’s principal secretary (rehabilitation) to file an affidavit detailing matters related to farm credit, loan recovery statistics and implementation of the interest waiver scheme.

While hearing a PIL filed by Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari, the division bench of justices Dilip Sinha and Bhushan Dharmadhikari expressed its deep concern over the agrarian crisis prevailing in the region. Observing that farmers’ suicides was a serious matter, the court wondered if the state realised gravity of the situation.

In its last hearing of the case, on July 13, the court had asked the state to file within three weeks the measures taken by the government to tackle the issue. However, on Monday the affidavit filed by additional divisional commissioner of Amravati division Lokesh Chandra, who now heads the Vasantrao Naik mission implementing the special relief packages, failed to satisfy the court.

Coming down heavily on the government, the court sought all relevant details regarding the state’s policy for cotton growers like the credit flow, recovery of loans, beneficiaries of the interest waiver under the PM’s package. The court wanted to know if the distressed farmers had access to farm loan and the scale of finance in the six districts as compared to other parts of the state. The court has directed the principal secretary (rehab) to file the detailed affidavit elaborating on the government policy to mitigate the cotton growers’ plight.

The PIL, filed by Tiwari, contended that the state officials had failed to comply with the directions issued by the courts earlier. As a result, the ground situation had only deteriorated and at least 1,875 farmers had committed suicide in the region. The bouncing of a cheque of Rs 10,000 issued from PMO’s relief fund to a farmer’s widow recently was cited as an example of the government’s lackadaisical approach to the crisis. When the counsel pointed to many shortcomings in implementation of the relief packages, the court asked the state to file an affidavit within ten days.

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti human rights group fighting for justice vidarbha farmers who are victims mass genocides of wrong policies of govt. moved today to national human right commission of India (NHRC) calling chairman's attention to news item released by Reuters and published by WASHIGTONPOSTin which has raised bias attitude of of Maharashtra Govt. to give justice to victims of Bombay riots after bombay blast which claimed around 1000 innocent people life.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India ended an epic trial this week which saw nearly 100 people, mostly Muslims, convicted for bombing Mumbai, but the Muslim victims of the communal riots which triggered the attacks say they have yet to receive justice.

Fourteen years after the blasts which killed 257 people, the judge delivered his final sentence in the case on Tuesday.

But if justice ground slowly in the Mumbai blasts case, it ground to a halt when it came to the communal riots which preceded the bombings, where around 900 people, two-thirds of whom were Muslims, were killed.

Politicians indicted by a judicial inquiry for inciting Hindu mobs have gone on to win elections and policemen accused of shooting dead Muslims from "point-blank and in cold blood" were either acquitted or never brought to trial.

"We were praying in the mosque when police barged in and started firing," said Farukh Mapkar, who was shot in the back. "The policemen were brutal. they didn't even spare a boy who was trying to run away. They shot him from point-blank range."

"It's been 14 years, it will be 24 years and still justice will not be done," he said. "There's no justice for us because we are Muslims?"

Senior communist Sitaram Yechuri says it is an example of a double standard that undermines India's secular democracy, when the "majority terrorism" of the Hindu mob is not punished with the same zeal as the "minority terrorism" of the Muslim bomber.

"Just as there are two India's -- Shining and Suffering -- there are two 1993s for Mumbai, the ghastly communal riots and the serial blasts," he wrote this week. "Justice can never be complete unless both of these are dealt with."

STONEWALLING?

The Mumbai riots followed the demolition of a 16th century mosque in northern India by Hindu zealots in December 1992. In retaliation, Muslim gangster Dawood Ibrahim ordered a string of bombings in the country's financial capital.

Ibrahim, India's most wanted man, is believed to be hiding in Pakistan .

But after one of the world's longest criminal trials, in a high-profile anti-terrorism court, the people who did his gory work have finally been sentenced, 12 to death, all of them Muslims, and 20 to life in prison.

By contrast, the trial into the riots "was quietly consigned to a commission of enquiry -- that classic Indian euphemism for official stonewalling," Farah Baria wrote in the Indian Express.

But Justice B.N. Srikrishna spent five years collecting a mass of evidence for that commission of enquiry. His 700-page report makes chilling reading.

He indicted 31 policemen, an "effete" political leadership that failed to arrest the violence and several top Hindu leaders, including Bal Thackeray the chief of the radical Shiv Sena party.

Thackeray, the report said, "like a veteran general commanded his loyal Shiv Sainiks to retaliate by organized attacks against Muslims."

The commission also accused then Mumbai police joint chief R.D. Tyagi of shooting nine Muslim boys during the riots. Tyagi was tried and acquitted in 2003. None of the other policemen named has yet been convicted.

Muslim groups are still demanding action, holding protests and asking the Supreme Court to get involved.

"What is the point in setting up a commission of inquiry if its recommendations aren't to be implemented?" said Naseem Khan, a Maharashtra lawmaker and a petitioner from the Action Committee for the Implementation of the Srikrishna Commission Report.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court told them to file an affidavit detailing the alleged lapses on the part of the government of Maharashtra -- of which Mumbai is the capital -- in implementing the Commission's recommendations.

The petitioners blame successive governments. First, when Shiv Sena came to power in 1995, it accused Srikrishna of being "biased against Hindus" and tried to disband his commission, only reinstating it after a public outcry.

Later, a government led by the supposedly secular Congress party buried the commission's report, officially because it didn't want to "re-open old wounds," but really, analysts say, for fear of alienating Hindus.

Maharashtra's Congress chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has constituted another panel to look into the implementation of the Srikrishna commission's recommendations.

"We have taken action against many of the guilty persons," Deshmukh told reporters last week. "But if there are still cases where action has not been taken, such lapses will be taken into account."

VJAS leader kishor tiwari has urged NHRC to take the issue and direct Maharashtra govt. to expedite the cases pending before supreme court and lower court due to want of follow up. VJAS also urged rehabilitation of victim families too.

Nagpur: Even after a number of suicides by cotton farmers, Bt (genetically modified) cotton seed continues to rule the roost in the cotton belt. This year, over 70% of farmers have preferred to sow Bt seeds. This is despite warnings by the state agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat as well as farm activists that the Bt seed was not suitable for Vidarbha where less than 10% of the land is irrigated and farming is largely rain-fed. “Reports reaching us till now point to over 60% use of Bt seeds for sowing this year in western Vidarbha’s five districts. With resowing on in some parts and delayed sowing in some places, there is possibility of over 70% of the total the crop coming under Bt seeds,” Sudhir Goyal, Amravati divisional commissioner, who also heads the special government machinery implementing relief packages for distressed farmers in six districts, told ToI on Saturday. Farm activists like Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari have been crying hoarse that a majority of over 1,400 farmers who committed suicide last year were those who relied on Bt cotton for bumper yields that never materialised. “Because of unfavourable conditions in the region, the seeds do not deliver results. Even the promise of reduction in use of pesticides because of the claimed disease resistance of Bt seeds has proved false,” he said. In fact, he said this year farmers have already sprayed the first round of pesticide so early in the kharif season. From the white gold it was known as till a decade ago, cotton has now turned into a killer crop. But the region so used to it as cash crop is finding it difficult to wean away from it. “There is no shrinkage in cotton growing area in the division, “ said Goyal. Tiwari went on to claim that the area under cotton cultivation this year may actually go up to around 17 lakh hectares from around 14 lakh hectares last year. He attributes it to a shortage of soyabean seeds believed to be created by Bt cotton seed dealers. However, Wardha district in Nagpur division which is included in the six distressed, suicide-prone districts covered by the PM’s and state’s special relief packages, has proved to be an exception. Soyabean, the alternative cash crop, has overtaken cotton cultivation in the district. “This year, nearly 75% farmers in Wardha have sown soyabean. There is a major shift from cotton,” said Vijay Jawandhiya, a farmers’ leader. “Last year, soya fetched a very good price in the range of Rs 1200 to Rs 1700 per quintal. Moreover, soya cultivation is relatively less expensive than cotton. Farmers are expecting soya prices to stabilise around Rs 1300 per quintal,” said Jawandhiya.

VIDARBHA FARMERS SUICIDES TOLL TO 555 IN 2007 AS 15 SUICIDES IN LAST THREE DAYS-VJAS URGED INDIAN PRIME MINISTER TO INTERVENE TO END AGRARIAN CRISIS.

Nagpur-4th august/2007

As 15 more distressed cotton farmers mostly from prime minister relief package covered six districts of west vidarbha now the total farm suicide since jan.2007 that is in year 2007 has crossed 550 mark taking the toll of farmers suicide 551 and1217 farmers have officially committed after Indian prime minister has announced the relief package of Rs.3750/- that has not served any purpose to reduce the prevailing distress ,Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti informed in press release today.

Not a single day since June 2005 that the local media ofVidarbha region of Maharashtra in India has not published the suicide news of debt Burdon and distressed farmers who are killing them selves for obvious reason of hostile condition prevailing in the rural part of this region as most of the victims of this agrarian crisis are in despair due to sudden huge drop inincome where massive increase in cost of health care ,food and education along with introduction of free finance schemes of banks to give loan for motor bike ,television sets and for mobiles too resulting the complete failure of civil and social administration .the spiral of Vidarbha farmers suicides have fifteen more vidarbha farm victims in lastthress days ,

They are

1.RAMESH RATHODE OF JAMBOLI IN YAVATMAL

2.DADARO MESHRAM MOKHED IN AMARAVATI

3.DIVAKAR MANKAR IN ASEGAON IN AMARAVATI

4.NARAYAN DAWANE OF KARGAON IN YAVATMAL

5.DADARAO SHEMBALE OF CHINCHOLI IN YAVATMAL

6.SARANGDHAR WASATKAR OF CHARGAON IN AKOLA

7.DHONDU SOLANKE OF GHOTA IN AKOLA

8.VIJAY MUNDE OF VIALLGE KARLI IN AKOLA

9.SHRIRAM KAMBLE OF DAHEGAON IN AMARAVATI

10.VILAS TEKADE PIMPRI PURNA INAMARAVATI

11.PRAALHAD PATIL BELORA IN AMRAVATI

12.ANAD GHEGE OF ERANDA IN WASHIM

13.BANDU MATANGE KALMESHWAR IN WASHIM

14.VITHAL DAKHARE OF BHENDALA IN YAVATMAL

15.GAJANAN EKANATH KOTHADE OF ELAKHEDI IN WARDHA

After the introduction most costly Bt.cotton in vidarbha in june 2007 and subsequent withdrawaladvance bonus in the cotton monopoly scheme that Rs.2500/- per quintal’the rural economy collapsed and according official reports million of cotton farmers are deep distress and this agrarian crisis may go out of control of civil administration.

VJAShas urged Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to intervene in this on going crisis in order to farmers suicides by granting main farmers main demands of credit andrestoration advance bonus in the cotton monopoly scheme that Rs.2500/- per quintalalong with food security and free health care, education and rural employment, Kishor Tiwari informed in a press release today.